Do Not Delay: The Voice of the Captives Cries Out

 Please take a look at my latest article, posted at the Times of Israel Blogs:

The Voice of the Captives Cries Out, TOI Blogs

My Friends,

We stand in the Days of Awe, trembling before the Judge of all the earth. We cry out: “Avinu Malkeinu, have mercy upon us.” But what if God were to answer: “Have you had mercy upon My children in captivity? Have you heard their cries?”

For the Torah is not silent. The prophets are not silent. The rabbis are not silent. They thunder with a single voice: There is no mitzvah greater than redeeming captives. None.

The Severity of Captivity

Jeremiah declared: “Those for death—to death. Those for the sword—to the sword. Those for famine—to famine. Those for captivity—to captivity.”

The Talmud (Bava Batra 8b) explains captivity is the worst fate of all, for it contains death, famine, humiliation, and despair.

And the Rambam adds (Hilchot Matnot Aniyim 8:10): “There is no mitzvah greater than redeeming captives. Whoever delays it is as if they are spilling blood.”

As if spilling blood. Do you hear? Every day we delay, every day we calculate, every day we say “not yet” — we stand with blood on our hands.

The Stories That Condemn Us

The Talmud (Gittin 58a) preserves stories meant to shake us.

When the Romans crushed the Bar Kokhba revolt, the Talmud tells us how the Jewish children of Beitar, the final bastion of resistance, sought to defend themselves with their writing styluses but were overwhelmed, murdered by being wrapped in their Torah scrolls, and burned alive.

The Talmud goes on to tell of how one brilliant boy enslaved in Rome, whom Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya refused to abandon until he redeemed him “at whatever the cost.” That child became Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha who if you know the old passage from the prayer book, Rabbi Yishmael omer, b’shalosh esrei midot haTorah nidreshet, “Rabbi Ishmael said, according to thirteen principles is the Torah interpreted,” then you have heard of this giant Torah sage.

The sages knew the rule: “Do not pay more than their value.” But in the face of children in captivity, they broke the rule. They paid whatever it took. Because when lives hang in the balance, calculation is cowardice.

In Our Time

In recent history, the late Israeli sage, Rav Ovadia Yosef declared: “In a situation of danger we redeem captives even for more than their value. Our enemies today need no encouragement to kidnap. They do so regardless. Therefore, in the face of danger, redeem them—at any cost.”

We are not dealing with marauding corsairs or medieval barons, hard up for money and looking to squeeze the Jews for gold.  The enemy today and the risk today require we prioritize saving lives at all costs. Any cost! For strategy is speculative, but the cries of the captives are real. Their torment is not theoretical. Their suffering is now.

The Indictment

I have heard the arguments against making the hostages the priority.  I have heard why prosecuting the war “to its end” is essential.  I have even made the arguments myself.  But today, my friends, I come before you and must say to all who will hear, we are standing trial this very day in the heavenly court.  We must speak out for what is right. 

You build strategies, weigh deterrence, speak of tomorrow. But the Torah cries: What of today? What of those held underground, tortured and dying? What of their loved ones imprisoned with fear and dread for their lives?

Do not harden your hearts. Do not stand idly by. Do not offer excuses. For God is not deceived by excuses. God asks only: Did you bring My children home? Or did you leave them in the pit while you waged your wars?

The Call

The halakhah is clear. The prophets are clear. The Rambam is clear. Rav Ovadia is clear. There is no mitzvah greater, no command more urgent.

Therefore, I say: First the hostages. First the captives. First the broken ones who cry from their chains.

Then, and only then, the other battles. Then, and only then, the other strategies.

For if we abandon them, we abandon our Torah. We abandon our God. We abandon our very soul as a people.

What can we do?

Support organizations and families

Hostage and Missing Families Forum: This group, active in Israel and the United States, supports families of those taken captive. Donations fund diplomatic lobbying, media campaigns, and direct aid for families.

Raise awareness

Social media campaigns: Share information about the hostages from reliable sources on social media. Many campaigns use hashtags to amplify their message.

Community events: Organize or attend local events, such as rallies or walks, to bring peaceful attention to the hostages’ plight. Our synagogue participates in Run for Their Lives every week.

Posters: The “Bring Them Home Now” campaign and similar initiatives have created posters of the hostages. They still adorn the walls of our synagogue.  Distribute these in your community is a direct way to spread awareness.

Contact elected officials

Engaging with your elected representatives can influence policy and diplomatic efforts.

Call or email: Contacting your government representatives and urging them to prioritize the hostages’ release sends a powerful message. Staffers often tally every call and email, making your voice heard.

Advocate for diplomatic solutions: Urge your officials to support negotiations, which have previously led to hostage releases. For example, Qatar, Egypt, and the U.S. have been involved in past mediation efforts.

Conclusion

On Yom Kippur we will beat our chests and cry out: “For the sin we have committed before You in hardening our hearts.” Let us not add one more blow to our chest, one more stain upon our soul.

Let us say instead: This year, we heard their cries. This year, we acted. This year, we redeemed.  Here, in the Diaspora, private citizens, our impact is likely only ever to be small.  I am under no illusions as to that.  But I believe that even the smallest deed, the quietest voice, still matters.

And may the God who redeems captives redeem us all — from captivity, from fear, from cruelty, from exile — speedily and in our days.

Jewish American Heritage Month

 

May is Jewish American Heritage Month and for the second year in a row, the first Wednesday in May is Jewish American Heritage Day here in Suffolk County. A wonderful gathering took place this past Wednesday and I was honored to give the invocation and share a blessing of Jewish unity along with my colleague, Rabbi Helayne Shalhevet of Temple Beth Emeth. Please find here the text of the Unity Prayer and some pictures from the event: Eternal One, As we gather to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month, we give thanks for the rich tapestry of Jewish life— a story of resilience, faith, and contribution woven into the fabric of this nation. Bless the Jewish people in America, in Israel, and around the world with unity of spirit and strength of purpose. May our love for one another and our shared heritage transcend borders and generations. We give thanks for the ability to practice our Judaism each in our own way,  freely in our country, yet united as one Jewish people.   Our lives are enriched through being a part of the American Jewish community. We honor the enduring dream of Zion— a homeland reborn in love, sacrifice, and courage. May our connection to Israel, the heart of the Jewish people, continue to inspire pride, responsibility, and hope. Reunite the families of the 59 hostages remaining in Gaza with their loved ones they have waited for these past 579 days. Bring them home now! Let us walk together, proud of our past, united in our present, and committed to a future of harmony, justice, and peace. Amen.

What American Jews Should Remember on Yom HaZikaron (and Celebrate on Yom HaAtzmaut)

If we Jews wanted, we could have a reason to mourn everyday.  The great scholar Leopold Zunz was not wrong in describing ours as a "lachrymose history."  And yet, we Jews don't fast and don sackcloth and sprinkle ashes on our heads everyday, despite the historical and ongoing (571 days since October 7th today) occasions to do so.

What we do, however, and do exceptionally well, is remember.  Today is in fact such a day, Yom haZikaron, Israel's Remembrance Day for those who died in the defense of Israel and those killed in terror attacks.  Unlike in the United States, their "Memorial Day" is truly somber, holy, meaningful.  In part, because even prior to October 7th, fallen defenders of Israel and victims of terror were real, immediate, pressing losses.  In part because the day of remembering leads directly into Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel's Independence Day, which for us in the Diaspora, begins tonight.  The solemn mood of Yom HaZikaron gives way to joy and celebration.  

Acknowleding sadness, remembering the sacrifices that have brought us to the present moment, feeling the proper sense of sorrow and grief is entirely healthy and holy.  Judaism, by putting the focus on zachor, remembering, doesn't leave us solely to grieve.  It makes us see things in the great span of Jewish history.  And Jewish life.  Jewish living, today.  We do recognize the difficult nature of our past, the ongoing sufferings of today, but those feelings give way not to despair but to hope, and even joy.  Just as Jewish life should always.  

American Jews have sadly had to come to reckon with levels of antisemitism and violence unknown before October 7th in this country.  It has been all to easy, for us living in an American milieu, to fall victim to feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and sorrow.  How can this be happening?  

It is for all those reasons, that we, living here, need the lessons implicit in Yom HaZikaron and YomHaAtzmaut, of remembering our losses and then gratefully celebrating our blessings, precisely because of the losses we all share.  

As a rabbi in the United States, it is a small measure of hope I feel to see more and more Jews here, in particular, those younger than me, who have come to embody this lesson.  Who have not let the events in Israel and the US scare them away from their Jewish heritage but instead embrace it, proudly and loudly!  I am inspired, just as I am by those refugees from Europe and others who brought Israel to be 77 years ago.  As I am inspired by the young Israelis risking their lives to defend her today.  The lessons of the past are being remembered and are being acted upon.  

When we remember what has been lost and what has been endured, we are saddened.  But we also are inspired, to press on, to give thanks, and to live with joy for the moment that has been granted to us - for the opportunity we have to be one link in the great chain of Jewish life and forge it, beautiful and strong, for the generation to come.  

As the Psalmist noted centuries ago, "I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Hope in the Lord; be of good courage, and God shall strengthen your heart; hope, I say, in the Lord!"

Rejecting the JCPA's and RA's Rejection of False Dichotomies

“This bill would sacrifice the Constitutional rights of every citizen, and would concentrate in the national government arbitrary powers, unchained by laws, to suppress the liberty of all. This bill makes a shambles of Constitutional guarantees and the Bill of Rights. It permits a man to be jailed and fined without a jury trial. … This bill would take away the rights of individuals and give to government the power… This bill would abandon the principle of a government of laws in favor of a government of men. It would give the power in government to government bureaucrats to decide what is discrimination. This bill would open wide the door for political favoritism with federal funds. It would vest the power in various bureaucrats to give or withhold grants, loans, and contracts on the basis of who, in the bureaucrats’ discretion, is guilty... It is because of these and other radical departures from our Constitutional system that the attempt is being made to railroad this bill through Congress without following normal procedures…”

Was this Cory Booker talking about Trump’s latest overreach? No!

It is Strom Thurmond arguing against the Civil Rights Act of 1964!

Be careful what side of history you are on. Words I wish the Rabbinical Assembly, my union as a Conservative rabbi, would have considered when adding its name to the Jewish Council for Public Affairs letter last week “Rejecting False Choice Between Jewish Safety and Democracy”

Why do I feel this way?  To be sure, the violation of the civil rights of citizens and non-citizens alike should alarm all Americans and be a call to action.  Just as I would hope acts of antisemitic violence and intimidation should alarm and awaken to action all decent Americans. Let us explore then if there is such a dichotomy as the JCPA says, and if the Jews should feel themselves being “used” as the letter suggests.  Or perhaps, is there a complicated, yet correct attitude one should have instead.

The Jewish Council on Public Affairs has a long and storied history.  Founded in the 1940s, it was the PR branch of Jewish Federations for most of its existence up until 2021 when it became an independent organization.  In 2023 it hired Amy Spitalnick, the former head of J Street, to be its new leader.  J Street, a progressive Zionist organization has in recent years come in for criticism from those on the American left for being “too Zionist.” This suggests to me that the JCPA may be attempting to position itself as a more suitable left-wing organization on the American Jewish scene.  That is well and good, but for the Rabbinical Assembly, an organization that represents rabbis of many political persuasions as is to be expected of a Movement in the center of Jewish life, it is concerning to me that the RA should think this is where to align itself.

It is further disturbing to me that on its own website, the Rabbinical Assembly, unless I was unable to locate it, does not bother to list its endorsement of the JCPA letter.  If we, the RA, are going to take up causes, let us do so with conviction and boldness and not, as it seems in this case, in such a way as to both “join the club” and “not rock the boat.”  As of Tuesday, April 22^nd, the RA is now publicizing its position more to its membership. 

For my purpose here, I will focus on the case of Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate student, who has been detained and against whom deportation proceedings are unfolding, as representative of the JCPA’s claim that democracy is being attacked under the guise of punishing those threatening Jews in America.   

Khalil is a “lawful permanent resident alien,” essentially the level just below being a citizen of the United States.  He holds Algerian citizenship.  He was a campus leader at Columbia of the encampment protests following the October 7^th, 2023, attack on Israel.  Khalil created a group called CUAD, a successor to Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine at Columbia. 

Columbia University Apartheid Divest is, according to their own charter:

“a coalition of student organizations working toward achieving a liberated Palestine and the end of Israeli apartheid by urging Columbia to divest all economic and academic stakes in Israel. We seek an end to all interlocking systems of oppression through collective action and solidarity with oppressed people worldwide.”

“We believe in the right of self-determination, Land Back, and the Right of Return, from Palestine to Turtle Island.”

Those words in themselves are inflammatory but I would admit fall within the realm of free speech.  However, as the New York Times reported, CUAD expressly backs “armed resistance” by Hamas.  And as covered by the National Review, CUAD recently rescinded an apology it had offered after one of its members said Columbia should be “grateful that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.” CUAD has also promoted a “Resistance 101” panel that featured a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine — a designated foreign terrorist organization — who proceeded to laud his “friends and brothers” from Hamas and yet another foreign terrorist organization, Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Another panelist at the event: “There is nothing wrong with being a member of Hamas, being a leader of Hamas, being a fighter in Hamas… These are the people that are on the front lines defending Palestine.”

This is not to ascribe solely to Khalil these actions, but it is clear to see here, and how much more to recall ourselves, the fear and danger that Jewish students and staff felt at Columbia, in the immediate aftermath of the October 7^th attacks, on account of the actions of groups like CUAD.

Furthermore, when we consider that in 2019, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act was clarified by executive order to include the understanding that, “discrimination against Jews may give rise to a Title VI violation,” are we American Jews out of our minds to expect, to deserve, the consideration of the authorities we Jews would demand for transgender, African-American, disabled, or any other American?  We should not feel afraid to expect that when Jews’ lives are put at risk in the United States as they have been since the October 7^th attacks and the subsequent protests on American campuses such as Khalil and others organized, and that schools like Columbia acted incompetently to control and curtail, are we not justified to at least want to see scrutinized by the courts these unprecedented cases of hatred and violence that have recently occurred?

And that is precisely what has been happening.  Perhaps not perfectly, perhaps even incorrectly in some respects.  But to think that it is outside of the State Department’s role to challenge the residency status of such individuals is simply incorrect.  In 1952 it was established in a provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act that the Secretary of State can make the determination in cases such as this one, to remove non-citizens whose actions undermine or jeopardize American policy.  In Khalil’s case, Secretary Marco Rubio has argued that his presence in the United States, “undermines U.S. policy to combat anti-Semitism around the world and in the United States, in addition to efforts to protect Jewish students from harassment and violence in the United States,” and that “condoning anti-Semitic conduct and disruptive protests in the United States would severely undermine that significant foreign policy objective.”

Furthermore, earlier this month, Judge Jamee Comans ruled in Louisiana last Friday that Khalil can be deported, saying that the U.S. government met its burden of proof to remove him.

In addition, Khalil, and other detained students can, according to reporting by Al Jazeera on the matter, “file lawsuits in federal courts, assert violations of due process and seek to restore their legal status. For instance, students at Michigan universities have initiated legal actions against the Department of Homeland Security, alleging that their F-1 statuses were terminated without sufficient notice or explanation. In urgent situations students may request temporary restraining orders (TROs) to prevent deportation and reinstate their status while legal proceedings are ongoing. Federal judges in states like Montana have granted such orders to protect students from immediate removal.”

I share all of this to note that regarding the unique situations at hand, the rule of law is being applied.  Frustratingly, inconsistently, perhaps, but it is being applied to cases without, so far as I am aware, much precedent – visa holders endangering others because of those others’ protected categories of identity.  That is unusual if not historic, and it concerns me that due process should be followed, but it also does not surprise me that the actions on all sides need to be adjudicated as that process unfolds

Most importantly, though, is the claim of a false dichotomy in the JCPA letter.  American Jews, and organizations that represent them, should reject the claim that we cannot be, all at once, concerned with the treatment of migrants in the United States, whether they have entered legally or illegally.  We can and should be concerned that human beings are treated with dignity. 

AND at the same time, we can be relieved and cautiously optimistic that virulent forms of antisemitic behavior, unlike anything I have seen in my career or lifetime, are being stopped.  And we can feel that way without believing that we are being used as pawns.  I for one, am not so convinced of the philo-Semitism of either American political party, at least not so much that I don’t suspect both of being okay with using Jews as pawns.  Nor do I believe that only one party sincerely wants to fight against Jew hatred.  I think both can be true of both parties at once. 

Which brings me to my final point.  I would have admired the Rabbinical Assembly, had it made a choice to champion such a nuanced, complex, position as I have attempted to outline.  Yes, we are worried abuses of power are taking place on the part of the administration.  Yes, we are thankful that inciters of violence against Jews are being prosecuted by that same administration.  Yes, we are concerned that people are being unjustly deported for other reasons altogether.  Yes, we are made to feel more secure that truly dangerous individuals are being removed from our country if they truly should not be here. 

We Jews are supposed to find God in the details.  To have three opinions between two of us.  To acknowledge that perfection is God’s alone and that we human beings have to settle for flawed mortality.  Just as we should not be afraid to stand up for ourselves and our own community, we should also bravely and courageously declare that we refuse to worship at the altar of the idolatry of American political back and forth designed for a news cycle or election cycle and instead stay true to the eternal ideals that were ancient before America was a though.  That we must seek to protect these values, for our benefit and for the benefit of the United States, including the belief that to do what is right is complicated and never easy. 

 

Hardening a Pharaoh's Heart - A Passover Lesson for Our Time

Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh

In my experience as a rabbi, calling someone out from the pulpit usually goes - poorly.  The one and only time I thought to do it, the person I was addressing, let's just say, didn't appreciate the lesson about teshuvah (repentence), I thought I was offering.  

It's not a sermon topic I've tried again.

Back in January, we were reading in synagogue of the encounters between Moses and Pharaoh and facing the eternally perplexing question of how it could be fair for God to "harden Pharaoh's heart," וַיֶּחֱזַק֙ לֵ֣ב פַּרְעֹ֔ה.

It was also the time of the second inauguration of President Donald Trump.  And the week of the sermon in the National Cathedral of the Right Reverend the Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde who called out the returning president for the policies he had enunciated, asking him to act with more mercy.  

If the Bishop had wanted to change the President's mind in that moment, I think she should have chosen a different strategy.  Given the public impression of the President, one might have assumed he would not respond positively to being chided in public the week of his return to office.  Certainly, no policy changes took place.  

It made me wonder, what the goal for Bishop Budde really was.  As one of the country's leading clergypeople, based in the nation's capital, getting the ear of the leader of the free world, I have to imagine, wouldn't have been impossible for her.  One can imagine sitting in the Oval Office discussing a change to immigration and other policies that could have more successfully changed the returning President's mind.  

Nor were her comments the beginning of an ongoing campaign to shift policy decisions.  All that seems to have happened was a "one-off" that may have only solidified, "hardened," the very positions it would seem she didn't want him to promote. 

My purpose in bringing this up is because it was the first time I could understand how it could be "fair" for God to harden Pharaoh's heart.  Wasn't it taking away his autonomy his free will?  Didn't God know how he would act?   

When you are in some kind of position of, if not authority, then at least publicity, and in public you call out some other important-type person - like me with my congregant, or Budde with Trump, or God and Moses with Pharaoh, it is the rare sort person who can hear in that confrontation the strength to repent and transform.  All the moreso if they think they are right and you don't know what you're talking about, they will bristle, they will become defensive, they will double-down; in short, their hearts will harden.  

And if at that point, you, the truth-speaker, just stop, then you probably haven't done anything but make the situation worse.  Far better to take a different, probably more private, approach to changing things.  

Or else you must be ready, like Moses, to continually confront the Pharaoh.  To know that in so doing you are going to harden his heart.  That questioning his authority, his power, his competence, is going to make him harden and resist.  It wasn't at all that God took away Pharaoh's free-will, it was that Pharoah was a person who when he was told, when he was shown over and over, that he was acting against God's will, could do nothing but refuse to change.  

In everyday situations, we can learn from both sides of this story.  We can learn to be more open to criticism, even when it is public and embarrassing.  Even when it might be humiliating.  If we are doing something wrong, we should want to hear the truth and get better, fix things.  It is a huge task, but worth it.  

And if we are in a position to influence someone's behavior for the better, let us not bring our own egos, our own agendas into the mix but discern the way to act that will truly bring about the desired change.  Recall that Moses did not want the mission of going to Pharaoh.  He knew how difficult it would be to confront the Pharaoh head-on.  How it would be a prolonged struggle to do so.  That is an example of true courage and leadership.  

Be brave, be determined, persevere, and also, be open to hearing criticism and most of all, be kind.  

Have a Shabbat Shalom and a blessed end to our Holiday of Freedom - Chag Sameach!